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The Brent Spar Accident

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Introduction The Brent Spar was a storage buoy, commissioned on 1976 for oil storage and subsequent transfer to tankers. It was located in British territorial waters. This buoy belonged to Shell U.K. and Exxon; Shell was in charge of the operations. By 1989, Shell U.K. and Exxon finally had an operational pipe line so the Brent Spar was no longer useful. Both decided to decommission the Brent Spar on 1992 and Shell U.K. was going to be in charge, being the one who handled operations. Shell U.K. ordered no fewer than 30 separate studies which considered the technical, safety, and environmental implications. The studies concluded on two options; sinking the Brent Spar on the North Sea (which had 1% risk of pollutant discharges from the …show more content…

On the other side Greenpeace, supported by media, was seen as a symbol of “victory for democracy” (Ragnar E. Lofstedt and Ortwin Renn, The Brent Spar Controversy : An example of risk communication gone wrong, 1997) 3. Research. Seek for expert and unbiased opinions. Search for similar actions that made an impact on other industries, NGO’s and public then analyze consequences beforehand. Shell only searched when the problem was already on and was obliged to cede and try to regain trust. 4. Focus Groups. Prepare focus groups in different countries searching differences in public awareness among affected nations. Ragnar E. Lofstedt and Ortwin Renn, The Brent Spar Controversy : An example of risk communication gone wrong, 1997 explains: As has been described in this paper, the Germans, for instance, had very different views of Brent Spar than the U .K. public. Related to this, there is a need to improve consultation and communication with political agencies in other countries. Of particular importance is to test their agreement or approval if new methods are introduced or public outcry is likely to occur. The elimination of the so-called "surprise" factor is a necessity in order to reduce conflicts similar to Brent Spar. 5. MNC’s and NGO’s alliances. Public identify NGO’s as their representation on important matters such as environment and social justice. Corporations must consider alliances with NGO’s when working with

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